AncientMyth’s debut EP, ‘Echoes Beneath The Black Tide’, is a straightforward return to the old school Black Metal sound, coming straight out of Singapore’s underground. The band features musicians already familiar to the local extreme Metal scene, including Armin Nerraka, Pyrel Arcanum and Sham Herryk.
This is cold, fast and melodic Black Metal built around sharp guitar work, pounding drums and harsh vocals. The second wave influence is obvious, with the overall atmosphere and artwork giving off strong Immortal ‘At the Heart of Winter’ vibes. Still, AncientMyth keep things simple and underground rather than drowning the songs in modern production or unnecessary studio gloss. For this kind of material, that approach works.
The guitars are easily the strongest part of the EP. There are some good melodies running through the songs, giving the material its colder and darker character, while the drums provide the necessary drive without stealing attention from the riffs. The vocals fit the sound well and add to the atmosphere without becoming overbearing.
Of course, when a band deliberately works within such a traditional Black Metal framework, some of the ideas are going to sound familiar. Anyone who has spent years digging through the second wave will recognise the territory immediately. But this is a debut EP, and AncientMyth are not pretending to reinvent the wheel. What matters is that the material sounds sincere, and there are enough good melodic ideas here to suggest that the band can develop their own character with time.
The next step should be pushing those ideas further. More variation in the arrangements, a little more breathing room between the faster sections and allowing the melodies to develop could give the next release a stronger identity without taking AncientMyth away from their old school roots.
The limited Pro-CDr Digipak, restricted to just 66 hand-numbered copies, is a nice underground touch and suits the release. It has that old feeling of a small run made for those who actually bother to hunt down this kind of stuff. That said, I would like to see the next release presented on a proper Pro-CD format that does justice to the music and gives the band a more substantial physical edition.
‘Echoes Beneath The Black Tide’ is a decent debut that keeps the cold, melodic side of the genre alive while remaining firmly rooted in Singapore’s underground. There is room for the band to sharpen their songwriting and develop a more recognisable identity, but the foundation is there.
A promising first strike from AncientMyth.
